1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of polychromatic spectroscopic analysis of test specimens to determine the identity and concentration of constituent elements or compounds within the specimen. The present invention relates more specifically to methods and apparatus for utilizing optical transmission and reflection patterns for known compounds, patterns comprising variations in wavelength, phase, amplitude and polarization, to identify and quantify those compounds in unknown test specimens.
2. Background Information
Presently, there are a number of distinct methods employed for identifying constituent compounds in a test specimen and determining the concentration of each compound. Chemical analysis of a specimen, for example, is frequently undertaken and usually yields excellent results. However, certain specimens, including internal bodily fluids, are not particularly suited for chemical analysis, because such specimens can only be chemically analyzed by undertaking an invasive procedure--such as drawing blood--that may be painful and entail a risk of infection. For this reason, an accurate, non-invasive analytical method is needed for determining the identity and concentration of various compounds, such as glucose, alcohol or narcotic substances, in internal bodily fluids, such as blood.